Cindy's adventures, on and off the stage!

Current Affairs

10/16/2017

Sexual harassment and assault are big news at the moment. Apparently it takes a very high profile case, something salacious and gossipy enough to catch the imagination of the public at large, to start a national conversation. It takes a Harvey Weinstein or a Bill Cosby, the very public downfall of a very public figure.

Opera is not in the public eye the way Hollywood is, but we have our own deeply entrenched rape culture. It affects both genders and it is a real and hideous problem. Last year, working on behalf of an online group of American opera soloists, I collected stories from hundreds of colleagues to deliver to AGMA, our union, to encourage them to take a stronger stance on sexual harassment in the workplace. The late Alan Gordon, then Executive Director, was deeply horrified by these stories; he told me that he had had no idea there was so much harassment going on. As a result of this report, AGMA established a confidential system which allows members to report incidents, even if they do not want to come forward and pursue it legally. The idea is that AGMA will collect these stories and reach out to opera companies when they see that a predator has been hired. There is little else they can do if the singer is not willing to publicly name names.

Often the youngest, most vulnerable members of our profession are the ones most deeply affected. Young Artists are in the precarious position of being new to the profession, desperate not to take any wrong steps as they work to establish themselves, and at the mercy of unscrupulous people who use their power and position to take advantage. I will never forget a fellow apprentice approaching me backstage and saying, "Maestro just grabbed my ass. I don't know what to do. Should I report it?" She didn't. Too afraid of what it would mean for her career. I also witnessed, in a rehearsal in full view of the general director of the company, cast, and chorus, a stage director making inappropriate comments to the female apprentices about their bodies. No one, including myself, said a word. I did later speak to the apprentices and was told he did this on a regular basis, but they didn't know what to do about it. At the time, I didn't, either. Like others, I was too afraid to speak up.

It's not just young artists that this happens to, and not just women. A (male) conductor friend was assaulted by a (male) board member at a party. Another male friend was told by a well-known producer, "You're so handsome. I bet you and your boyfriend are just so beautiful together." There was a coach in a program I did who was famous for putting men's hands on his crotch under the pretense of seeing what kind of "reach" they might have on the piano.

Luckily for me, I have not experienced sexual harassment or assault in a professional environment, though I have many, many times in my personal life, beginning at age 10. Most of the incidents were harassment --- catcalls, guys following me through the subway or on the streets yelling stuff, demanding I smile and calling me a bitch or worse when I didn't; teenage boys snapping my bra strap and trying to throw things down my shirt; grown men saying suggestive things to me when I was a very well-endowed 11-year-old. But I've also been groped by strangers, dry-humped on a crowded subway car, pinned against the wall in a dark and isolated storage room by the husband of an employer.

And that's just me. As a child, I saw my mother groped in public. Five women (that I know of) in my circle of friends have been raped, some repeatedly by different assailants. I don't know any woman who has not been harassed or assaulted.

We can't ALL be exaggerating, "crazy", "too sensitive", "can't take a joke", "wanting it", "asking for it", can we?

So, how do we stop it? How do we , in the classical music industry, put our own house in order? Here are some ideas, and I welcome you to add your own in the comments.

Companies --- if it's not already, a policy statement on harassment should have a prominent place in your welcome packet and in your address to the company on day one of rehearsals; and it should be rigorously enforced. This includes taking initiative when you witness it or believe harassment has occurred --- not waiting for a complaint, but privately addressing the individual to hear their story and find out what, if any, action is required. It means letting the individual know you've got her back, are dealing with the offender, and are actively keeping an eye on the situation to make sure she is safe. It means talking to your board members and your staff to let them know artists and especially young artists are off limits and bad behavior will not be tolerated. It means educating and empowering your young artists and not putting them in vulnerable situations.

I love Dayton Opera's policy statement: "The Dayton Opera maintains a pleasant and productive work environment, and verbal abuse will not be tolerated. Abusive language includes racial, sexual, ethnic, or other ephitets as wella as profanity when directed at any company member... Sexual harassment in the workplace is a violation of state and federal law. Sexual harassment or intimidation is defined as unwelcome sexual advances and other verbal or physical contact of a sexual nature which is presented as a term or condition of employment, which interferes with an individual's work performance, or which creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment. Dayton Opera will not tolerate such behavior."

Men --- Call. It. Out. Right then, right there, out loud and in public. That includes not only sexist or harassing comments, but gaslighting, which is possibly even worse than the comments themselves. "Aw, can't you take a joke?" "You're crazy, I didn't mean it that way." "You're so emotional!"

Listen to a woman when she says someone or something made her uncomfortable and don't make excuses for someone else's bad behavior.

Amplify women's voices on these matters.

Check yourself. Review your own behavior. Ask yourself if you've ever insisted on attention from a woman who didn't want to give it, ever catcalled, ever snapped a bra strap, remarked on a woman's body publicly, told a woman she's crazy or too sensitive or can't take a joke when an incident goes down, laughed and made with the guys when a woman walks by. Ask yourself if you've ever done anything worse. Better yet, ask the women in your lives. It's very uncomfortable, but the exercise is not intended to make you feel guilty. It's to help you understand, really see the problem, and start making a real difference.

And, BTW, these "guidelines" are not just for men, but for ANYONE who sees bigoted or harassing behavior --- whether it's against women, or LGTBQ, or POC.

Women --- First and foremost, SUPPORT OTHER WOMEN. Don't body shame, don't talk trash about their outfit, hair, or makeup. That sort of BS feeds into rape culture in a big way and besides, it's tacky as all get out. (Yes, I've been as guilty of it as you have. And I've stopped).

Don't call other women "sluts" or "whores". Don't police other women's sexual behavior. Women can be just as bad as men about trashing other women. Stop it.

Be there for your friends. If someone tells you they've been harassed or assaulted, treat them like you think you'd want to be treated. Listen to them. Believe them. Get them medical help (that includes mental health help, if needed). Speak on their behalf if they want you to. Stand up to the abuser if you can. But most importantly, take your lead from them.

And if it's happened to you --- don't blame yourself. I can't say it any better than Rachel Flynn, a friend of a friend who posted on Facebook:

Everyone --- Call any harassment, bullying, or assault out --- no matter who is the victim, no matter what type of abuse it may be. Sexual, racist, homophobic--- if we want a better society, we have to squelch bigotry of all kinds and excise it to the greatest extent possibly from our culture.

Teach your kids body autonomy. Teach them the correct names for their body parts, and teach them that their bodies belong to themselves. Don't force them to touch people or accept touch if they don't want to ("Come on, give Aunt Flo a kiss!").

Teach your daughters that their value is in their minds and souls and work ethic and how they develop and use their talents and how they treat other people ... not in their appearance. Teach them that no one has a right to place limits on them because of their gender or the way they look. Teach them that men are not there to be toyed with or manipulated. Teach them that the responsibility of supporting a family is to be shared with their partner. Teach them that masculinity is not defined by stoicism, and that it takes many forms.

Teach your sons the same thing, and teach them that women are not there for their entertainment and do not owe them anything. Teach them that women's bodies are not there for them to comment on or touch unless invited to do so. Teach them to stand up to their less educated friends. Teach them that it's okay for them to cry, to be scared, to not want to play rough sports, to like and to do things that society at large considers "feminine". Teach them that the responsibility of supporting a family is to be shared with their partner, and that their worth is not defined by how much money they make.

We all can do better. We all can change. It starts with recognizing and speaking out, followed by action. You can make a difference.

12/21/2016

Much has been made in the professional music community of the question of who will and will not perform at the Inauguration. Rumors are swirling amid much speculation. We know that Sir Elton John, touted as a headliner early on by the rumor mill, has categorically denied involvement, and while many other well-known names have come up in connection with inaugural festivities, the facts surrounding them remain hazy, except in regard to two performers: the teenage America's Got Talent star Jackie Evancho, and Italian popera tenor Andrea Bocelli.

Evancho is confirmed to sing the national anthem at the inauguration and seems unfazed by criticism for her choice to perform even though she has a transgender sister who is poised to suffer from conservative policies. Bocelli, who initially agreed to perform a duet with the child star, has bowed out of his commitment due to the backlash from his fans, including a social media movement to boycott the star if he sang.

It's even being reported that DC area marching bands, normally a mainstay of such national celebrations, are staying away.

Couple these incidents with the recent hoopla over the Hamilton cast's address to Mike Pence, and one finds a lot of discussion about the place of artists in politics; and the side of the argument one is on seems to frequently align with who one supported in the election. I have seen a great deal of name-calling on social media and in comments sections; along with assertions that artists should "do their job", keep their mouths shut, and dance monkey dance; and criticisms of the fans for being "narrow-minded" and "forcing" decisions on the part of artists. Even the president-elect famously characterized the Hamilton cast as "harassing" Pence because they addressed him from the stage.

As artists and private citizens who have to live and work in these turbulent times, we must consider our positions on these matters. They are moral decisions, but they are also oftentimes business decisions. Here are my thoughts.

We artists are not performing monkeys.

As artists, we are entitled to conduct our business with integrity, according to our own values, and we are not obligated to hire out our private services to individuals we find reprehensible. I am not going to use my talent to entertain someone who is actively seeking to injure the people, the nation, and the way of life I love; nor should I be required to.

Public and private affairs are different matters. If I am hired by an opera company to perform a role or a concert, my services are offered to the general public, and I have no say about who is in the audience. It is my duty to offer my best to ALL audience members without regard to their personal or public lives. However, I would be entirely justified in refusing to offer any special courtesies as are often extended, such as meeting certain patrons after the show or attending a private event with them.

But if I am asked to perform specifically to honor a certain person or to entertain them at a private function, I have every right both as a professional and a private citizen to turn them down on the grounds of disagreeing with their politics, actions, or beliefs. Also, I have every right as a professional to make what I believe are good business decisions; including choosing my engagements; and as a consumer I have a right to boycott private providers of goods and services who do not reflect my values, as long as it is not discriminatory. We are all free to make choices, but choices are not free from consequences, and we have to make the best we can according to our consciences and values.

A respected friend and colleague asked me a very good question --- how is refusing to perform for people we disagree with any different than a bakery that doesn't want to make a wedding cake for a same sex couple? The difference is discrimination. Refusing service to an individual based on their actions is not discrimination. Refusing service to a class of people based on who they are is.

Public accommodation* is also a consideration. Federal and state law prohibits discrimination against race, color, religion, disability, and national origin in most (but not all) businesses and buildings that are open to the general public, whether they are publicly or privately owned. So places like bakeries, parks, hotels, restaurants, public hospitals, transportation systems, retail stores and yes, performance venues, are forbidden by law to discriminate, regardless of the business owner's personal beliefs.

However, performers themselves do not fall under the description of "public accommodation" and may execute discretion in deciding to whom they will sell their services.

A conservative friend and colleague offered these challenging questions: would I be okay with it if an opera company refused to hire me because a company I am boycotting is one of their corporate sponsors? Would I be okay with if if a donor asked that I be blackballed because a statement I made in my private life offended them?

My answer to this no, I would not be okay with it, and given the opportunity would be able to defend my point of view vigorously. These situations are not the same as the one faced by artists like Bocelli in being pressured to eschew performing for an individual his fans find objectionable. (And here, let me state for the record that I personally have been subjected to pressure and threats against my career, quite publicly as well as privately, by strangers who disapproved of a production I was scheduled to perform in; so I do understand the dynamics). As an employee of a company in a production which will be presented to the public, I would not bring my personal politics into the professional arena, any more than I would expect the opera company to take a political stance. My involvement in the production is politically neutral and does not indicate approval or disapproval of corporate sponsorship because it involves a public event, as opposed to a private one. It is quite typical in our business to "tone it down" for the sake of professionalism and the harmonious conduct of business. And as for donors, any artist can tell you that we already tiptoe around them and already are subject to being out of work if a big contributor dislikes us for any of a myriad of reasons.

Finally, to address the issue of whether artists should use a professional platform to advance personal agendas, i.e. addressing public officials or private individuals from the stage. It's a bit more complicated, and depends on many factors, so bear with me.

To a certain degree, the same concept of public vs private applies. As previously stated, if you are part of a public performance and are there as an employee, your employer has a right to demand a certain standard of conduct from you, and spontaneously addressing the public from the stage on a private matter probably does not fall within acceptable parameters. However, if the company has agreed to allow you to make a statement, that is their prerogative and there's nothing wrong with you, the artist, taking advantage of the situation. For example, for decades it has been standard practice for casts of Broadway shows to give curtain speeches in which they solicit funds for organizations that support AIDS research and services --- no doubt offensive to some theatergoers --- but nevertheless sanctioned by the company and therefore legit.

In the case of the Hamilton cast, they had the approval of the company and the show's author; and they did not in fact advance an agenda; they merely took advantage of the presence of a public official to respectfully voice some concerns and request that he take them into consideration --- in no way harassing him (their curtain speech has been conflated in many quarters with the fact that some patrons --- private citizens --- spontaneously booed Pence as he entered the theater. Others cheered). Public officials have given up a certain right to privacy, especially when they appear among their constituents, so I have no problem with a prominent person being singled out for a publicly delivered message.

If an artist has accepted a private engagement, similarly, they have accepted employment and owe a standard of conduct to their employer which includes a responsibility to offer their best to the audience, even if it includes individuals who they disagree with or cannot support. It would be inappropriate in this circumstance to voice privately held political opinions uninvited.

On the other hand, if an artist is self-producing an event, whether or not it is open to the public, they have a right to conduct themselves as they see fit (but are not free from the consequences of that conduct, especially if it's ill-considered).

Last but not least, it's futile and silly to insist that artists remain politically neutral. Have you MET us? Have you SEEN art? Art and artists are, by nature, inflammatory. Art is intended to provoke thought, feeling, and reaction. It is historically and by nature controversial and not intended for universal appeal. Artists, by definition, possess and communicate a point of view. We are historically agitators. Art that does not make you think, feel, and react is bad art and its artist has not done his or her job.

And so, my friends, don't expect artists to sit out the next four years, or eight years, or hundred years, quietly. Don't expect us to put on cute hats, dance to the organ grinder's music, and rattle tin cups at you before we are led tamely away. You may not always like us or approve of us, but my dears, one thing you can count on --- you are going to hear from us.

It's what we do.

*Thanks to photographer and Austin Opera supertitles coordinator David Grant for directing me to this line of investigation!

12/19/2016

And in despair I bowed my head;"There is no peace on earth," I said; For hate is strong, And mocks the song Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep; The Wrong shall fail, The Right prevail, With peace on earth, good-will to men."

Christmas Bells, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellowon which the carol "I heard the bells on Christmas day" is based

Today, while American democracy was being strangled by the very institution put in place to protect it, the Russian ambassador was murdered in Turkey; in what is apparently a terrorist attack, nine people were murdered in Berlin and many more injured; a gunman wounded three people in a Swiss mosque; and in Aleppo, civilians suffer horrendously and die, caught in the crossfire of a long and ugly war. These are dark days and they are only going to get darker.

Still wounded and in shock over the November election and by the gleeful arrangements being made for the rape and pillage of our country and our people --- happily aided and abetted by many of our friends, neighbors, and even loved ones --- liberals and progressives are understandably stunned, depressed, and sick. And we all have days that are really, really bad. Just a few days ago, I woke up in the very early morning hours from a mere two hours of sleep thinking, “Trump. Trump. Trump.” Last week, I had one of those days where I just cried on and off all day, whenever my mind wasn’t completely occupied and sometimes even when it was. I had some very bad days, but I also had some good days, and friends, that’s just how it’s going to be for all of us for a while. If you’re having a bad day, reach out. And if you see someone struggling, be a friend. Prop them up. Remind them that there are still good people in this world and we are going to stick together and we are going to take care of each other. Then do that. Take care of them.

On social media today, so many of my friends are hurting, terrified, despairing. And although I I should probably feel a great deal more despair than I do right now, today I am strong. Today I am holding out my arms to you and I have room to hug you all. Today, I have love and comfort and a message of hope for all of you.

And here’s why.

Today, I spent the better part of the day at a rally at my state capital, holding up a sign that had terrifying photos of Putin and Trump and read “Electors, take care who you PUTIN the White House. REJECT the President Elect!” and on the other side, a picture of Alexander Hamilton and the words, “Electors, save our democracy! Dump Trump!”. Chanting things like, “We need a leader, not a hateful Tweeter” and “Defend our democracy”. Singing America the Beautiful and We Shall Overcome and Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around.

One of the speakers said to us, “The evil don’t care about the truth; they don’t care about hurting others to get what they want; they don’t care about spreading news from spurious sources; they don’t care about looking at one tiny corner of the picture and using that to build policy; they don’t care about destroying the earth; they don’t care about racism, sexism, and homophobia. And that makes our job harder, because we do care, and we are going to take the high road. We have to be nonviolent. We have to stand in the truth.”

And that’s why I went.

I didn't go because I believed the electors' minds would be changed. I nurtured a very small, cautious hope; but I didn’t believe in the miracle. I went because I believe it is important for our dissident voices to be heard, for us to remind the world that Donald Trump did NOT receive a mandate, and that it is CRITICAL for us to fight, resist, obstruct bad policy and bad law and generally kick up the biggest fuss we can manage. I went because since November 9, I have been floating around in the same miasma of misery, fear, frustration, and grief as the rest of you; and though I’ve read many articles and signed many petitions and made many plans, I could find no focus for the activism it is now my duty as a patriotic American to undertake.

I went to stand in the truth.

At the rally, I found myself being interviewed by a news station from Dallas, by a journalist with kind, sad eyes. My friend Keenan and I lifted our strong voices with enthusiasm when the folk guitarists played and sang old protest songs. When the young organizers of the rally asked for volunteers to stand up and speak, I did, and I led the crowd in singing America the Beautiful. Afterwards, many people thanked me, and the guitarists came up to chat, and I discovered what one of my areas of service might be.

Folks, they need us musicians at these rallies. They need us to show up with our instruments, our voices, and silly little classroom percussion noisemakers. They need us to lead songs and to support the songleaders with our strong, sure voices. They need us to rev up the crowds. Actors, singers, public speakers --- they need those of us who know how to work a crowd to stand up, speak, keep the energy and purpose and enthusiasm high. Before I left, I had exchanged contact info with the other musicians and promised to help bring more of us to the next event.

My friends, I know you are beyond sad, and scared, and heartsick. But I leave you with this thought: ACTION is the ANTIDOTE to despair. Get off social media, get away from the screens, get out of the house. Go out among the people until you find the action that calls to you, and then take it. Get involved.

We are noisemakers, friends --- let’s get out there and make some noise.

08/04/2014

If you're an opera fan, or even if you're not, you've probably heard about the contentious negotiations between the Metropolitan Opera and its fifteen unions. It's been front page news, as the admin threatens a lockout and federal mediators have been brought in. A lockout has the potential to affect not only the hundreds of workers at the Met, not only the millions of tourist dollars it brings in to itself and surrounding businesses and the businesses that Met workers patronize, but the entire American opera industry. I urge you to visit www.SaveTheMetOpera.com to see the faces and hear the stories of my friends and colleagues there.

I have never sung at the Met, but I work with many people who do, and their plight has inspired the following thoughts.

When I stand up in front of an audience on a gorgeous set and open my mouth to sing, wearing a beautiful handcrafted costume and a carefully styled wig and thirty-forty minutes'worth of carefully applied makeup especially designed for my face, you are only seeing (and hearing) the tip of the iceberg. Scurrying around behind me (because there is very little time to sit) are hundreds of artisans, designers, craftspeople, technicians, artists, and other skilled laborers, each and every one of whom has contributed to what you are seeing and hearing in the spotlight and to your overall theatrical experience.

One of my favorite wig/makeup jobs ever, with one of my favorite artists --- Martha Ruskai.

One of the lessons taught to me as an undergraduate at the University of Texas at Austin --- one of the greatest lessons, for which I am eternally grateful --- was to respect the folks who work backstage. They work insanely hard and do everything in their power to help the soloists and make them look and feel good. They go above and beyond on a daily basis to make MY job easier, and they get none of the glory.

The insanely talented Howard Tsvi Kaplan. I'm wearing one of the three gorgeous and meticulously built costumes he designed for me, and the Sarasota Wardrobe Dept. built for me, for Vanessa.

The stories I could tell. How about the time Clare Burovac, Portland Opera's Director of Artistic Operations ran out in the pouring rain before a show to get me a steamer when I had laryngitis. Howard Tsvi Kaplan taking measurements while we were on a job in Kentucky (where I was wearing his gorgeous Marcellina costume) so he could get started building three fantastic costumes for Sarasota Opera's production of Vanessa later in the season (and acting like I was doing him a favor). Or the times I watched Chicago Lyric Opera choristers surreptitiously guide a singer who had jumped in for an ailing colleague at the last minute through critical moments of staging, or pick up a prop a soloist had dropped and discreetly get it back to them or dispose of it, or make sure they had the physical support they needed in a critical moment. Orchestra members, who we soloists often only see in passing as we're heading back to the dressing room, going out of their way to compliment our performances --- in which they were vital collaboraters. I can't count the times a stage manager or assistant stage manager has saved my butt, or that a stagehand has asked me randomly if I need anything, just quietly moved something out of my way, or otherwise did something to make my job easier. One of my dressers at Arizona Opera not only made sure she learned my show so she could always be standing there with water when I came offstage, but insisted on doing my personal laundry and would not take money for it. My dresser at Portland Opera made CONSTANT runs up and down the stairs to keep me supplied with hot water for tea when I was sick. The Tulsa Opera crew and their spouses put on a HUGE potluck barbecue at the dress rehearsal, and every single member of the company is invited.

Members of IATSE Local One, stagehands at the Metropolitan Opera. Nothing happens onstage without these guys. (Pic from www.SaveTheMetOpera.com)

And we haven't even scratched the surface. Most people, if asked about what goes into creating a show, will mention the "glam" jobs. Of course there are the performers themselves --- soloists, choristers, orchestra, the maestro, the stage director, the rehearsal pianists, dancers, supernumeraries. They may even think about the designers --- set, lighting, costumes, wigs/makeup, sound, props --- and possibly even the teams of artists and craftspeople who realize their designs through hours and hours of highly skilled and often specialized labor. Fewer will think to mention the stagehands --- those guys and gals who are up at 6 a.m. to unload 25 semis' worth of set and equipment, put it all together and make it work, make sure it runs safely and properly for the performances, and are up until 4 in the morning striking, packing, and loading it out on closing night. The electricians and the carpenters and the sound guys. The stage manager, whose job it is to keep everybody safe and the show running --- they are back there calling HUNDREDS of cues --- and the assistant stage managers who help them and make sure you get on stage at the right time. The tech director who oversees the production, making sure every department gets what they need and the show comes in at budget.

I love this video made by the 2009 Santa Fe Opera intern electricians! It's silly and fun but these people work HARD for their money.

Then there are the folks who work in the office doing everything from scheduling rehearsals and coachings and releases to arranging travel and housing and visas, or acting as artist liaisons or doing marketing. The front-of-house people who do things like box office, house management, ushering and patron care. The custodians and groundskeepers. I'm probably forgetting some folks, and to you, my apologies. The point is, we soloists do not acknowledge often enough all these colleagues who represent the BULK of the organization behind us that goes into creating the art we all love so much.

And of course, the administration and the board are vital parts of this equation. Someone must provide a vision and leadership for the company. Someone must be the face of the company in the community. Someone must do the critical and neverending work of fundraising. Soneone must make the hard decisions.

Let's not overlook the audience. If you buy a ticket to hear an opera, you have become an important member of the company. We need you, and not only for financial support. Performing artists need an audience. We need to give to you as much as you need to receive. There is a very special relationship between performers and audiences, and on nights when it's working properly, you can feel the energy crackling between the stage and the seats. It's magical. It's the real reason why opera, and the performing arts, are not now and have never been dying. They evolve, but they do not die, because artistic people come in all forms and with a rainbow of talents. I know many patrons who don't consider themselves artistic, but if you are a patron of the arts, you absolutely are. You are absolutely a vital member of the larger organism that is an opera or ballet or theatre company, or a symphony or chorus. There's a reason Wagner called opera Gesamtkunstwerk.

Please think about this amazing collection of people the next time you enjoy a concert, opera, play, or ballet. And please support them. Sign the petition at SaveThe MetOpera.org and support your local arts organizations.

And soloists, say thank you often and loudly. We may be the faces and bodies and voices that represent this amazing art form, but we are truly nothing more than the tip of the iceberg.

04/06/2014

The action: some fellow students and I are singing arias to advertise our upcoming production of TheMarriage of Figaro. A little boy of about 4 stands, mesmerized, a few feet away. He does not want to leave and violently protests when his parents attempt to move him along.

(Repeat versions of the above in a hotel lobby in San Antonio, TX and after a Messiah performance somewhere I no longer remember; but was approached by a parent with a tiny little boy who wanted to give me a hug).

***

The time: 1998.

The scene: A McDonald's in Burnet, TX.

The action: I am driving home from performances of the Ring Cycle in Arizona and have stopped off for coffee, wearing my Ring sweatshirt. I am the only person in the place not wearing overalls and a gimme cap. The good ol' boy behind me strikes up a conversation: "Der Ring des Nibelungen?" he drawls. "I love me some Wagner. I listen to that Texaco Opera broadcast when I'm on my tractor."

***

The time: 2012

The scene: A Starbucks in Miami, FL.

The action: I'm enjoying my post-workout smoothie and I happen to have a bunch of free tickets to the dress rehearsal of Romeo and Juliette to give away. Everybody in the place wants one and suddenly, people who were formerly merely occupying the same space as they pursued their individual interests are chatting with each other ABOUT OPERA. The Cuban barrista shyly asks if he can have four tickets --- he wants to take his wife, his sister, and his mother-in-law.The next time I see him, he's beaming -- those opera tickets made him a hero at home. I no longer have to pay for coffee.

***

The time: 2013

The scene: A bakery/cafe in Bozeman, MT.

The action: The wonderful, remote cabin where I'm staying has no internet access, so every day I drive into town and spend several hours (and dollars) at my favorite cafe. I have comp tickets to Romeo & Juliet to give away, and offer them to the twenty-something tattooed, pierced barrista. He is so excited that he comes around the counter and asks if he can give me a hug. "I have ALWAYS wanted to go to the opera!" he says. He immediately calls a female friend. You'd think I'd tipped him fifty bucks.

Footnote: two separate groups of high school kids come to the performances. They have all been studying Romeo & Juliet in English class. One group comes in their finest prom attire --- they are making an evening of it. The other has made fantastic Venetian masks, which they all wear throughout the performance. Both groups are wildly enthusiastic about the show.

***

The time (I promise this is the last one): 2013

The place: Iroquois County, IL.

The scene: On opening night of Cold Sassy Tree, a colleague and I have rescued a kitten and taken it to the nearest animal shelter we can find, a good 20 miles out of town in more or less the middle of no where. This overcrowded cat shelter is run by several young women. We spend a lot of time touring and playing with the kitties --- they don't get many visitors --- and chatting with the employees. It turns out that one of them is a huge opera fan and in fact had seen me when I sang there two years ago; she makes regular trips to Chicago (over two hours away) to hear opera at the Lyric.

***

There's been so much naysaying about the state of opera recently; and with the controversial announcement of San Diego's Opera abrupt closing (which now, thankfully, has been postponed), article after article has sprung up with the headline, "Is Opera Dead?"

I'd say that the national conversation and outrage over San Diego is a pretty good argument that opera continues to be relevant to many people. And the anecdotes above are just a sampling of what I have personally experienced over my years as a professional singer. Opera lovers exist where you least expect them; and many more people are open to the genre than is popularly believed.

When you tell people you're an opera singer, no one ever reacts with indifference. In fact, no one ever reacts with disgust or contempt. The reaction is almost always some variation of "Wow, that's so cool! I don't know much about opera but I like the little bit I've heard." Often they ask you to sing for them; and when they do, if the situation is appropriate, I always do. I believe we should be ambassadors for our art form. So I sing when I'm asked; I give away comps to performances. Sure, I'd rather they buy a ticket, but maybe they will next time. Or maybe they'll just always fondly remember that time they went to the opera, and when years down the line somebody makes a disparaging comment, they'll pipe up and say, "I went to the opera once. It was magical." Or "I met an opera singer once. She was cool."

Opera has a public relations and marketing problem. The general public still seems to think that opera singers are all fat and temperamental and that all our costumes involve horned helmets. And they seem to think we're all rich, too. (I wish)! And industry professionals like San Diego's general director Ian Campbell (who, let us not forget, deserves lauds for his past contributions in turning SDO around even though he's now trying to burn it to the ground) are actively damaging today's opera by promoting the old-fashioned, grand opera ideal of huge productions, with big stars the only worthwhile talent. Everybody loves a spectacle and opera has always, in part, been about spectacle, but it's much, much more.

Good theater is good theater. It doesn't need fancy production values to be interesting, entertaining, or relevant.And I'd be willing to bet that those top-tier singers who are getting $19,000 a performance at San Diego Opera would be just as riveting if they were standing on a bare stage in their street clothes. If they weren't, they wouldn't be worth $19,000 a performance. A diamond doesn't need a fancy setting to shine.

Opera isn't dying. Opera is evolving. Increasingly, only a tiny handful of companies in the world can afford to regularly produce opera on a grand scale; and this isn't a terrible thing. What a treat to travel to one of the world's great houses to see and hear the artistry of composers, singers, instrumentalists, conductors, costume, set, makeup, and lighting designers, scenic artists, dancers, and the less glamourous but indispensible artistry of the carpenters and electricians who bring the vision to life. What an occasion.

But you can still see and hear opera on ---perhaps a less grand, but no less intriguing, artistic, moving, relevant scale. As I type, Fort Worth Opera Festival is rehearsing the haunting, Pulitzer Prize-winning Silent Night, based on a true event during WWI; and last season they brought the wrenching and critically acclaimed Glory Denied about a Vietnam War POW; right alongside sparkling productions of Daughter of the Regiment and La boheme. Moving to a festival format revitalized Fort Worth Opera; it is now one of the jewels of the industry and an example many other companies look to for inspiration.

Minnesota Opera comes to mind as a long-successful producer of innovative and vital productions of traditional favorites as well as new productions. (I treasure my experience as a cast member of the American Premiere of Jonathan Dove's delightful The Adventures of Pinocchio --- an opera which, as appealing to adults as children, should see many more American productions that it currently does).

And I am particularly proud of my hometown opera, Austin Lyric Opera, which under new, decisive leadership has recovered from its foundering, gotten out of debt, and is moving forward with programming which is both artistically satisfying and engaging for the community.

These are just a few examples. I sit writing this in a coffee shop in Boise, Idaho, where I am currently directing a production of Gianni Schicchi for Opera Idaho. It's not a big budget show, but I daresay it will be entertaining and appealing to the audience. Today over lunch, my hostess asked me how Opera Idaho compared to other small market companies. "Does every state have an opera company?" she asked.

Good question. As near as I can tell, every state in the U.S. has at least one opera company, except North Dakota, Wyoming, and West Virginia. My home state of Texas has fourteen, including two international houses, four solid mid-size regional companies, and a myriad of smaller houses and associations --- and that doesn't count all the universities that produce opera. North Carolina has seven professional companies, a major training program/festival and the A. J. Fletcher Opera Institute. Pennslyvania has eleven companies. Missouri has five. Florida has twelve. California has about thirty-three --- we hope it doesn't soon become thirty-two.

This doesn't sound like an art form on its deathbed to me. Besides, opera dotes on death scenes. And mad scenes. And dramatic rescues.

02/06/2014

Russia, never a leading proponent of human rights, continues to make headlines for its public and private persecution of its GLTB citizens. Now Sochi officials are rounding up and poisoning their hundreds of neglected stray dogs in an effort to clean up the streets before the tourists get there. And the journalists who have arrived early to cover the events are Tweeting about the disgusting and sometimes dangerous conditions they're finding in their woefully unprepared hotels.

Sounds like a great place to visit!

Admittedly, I don't really care about the Olympics or any other sports. However, I do have a great deal of respect for the Olympic athletes, who sacrifice and train hard to master their chosen discipline. In their work, I find parallels to mine, and in their dedication and achievements, I find inspiration. I wish them well, and I don't fault them for going to Sochi, even our gay Olympians, who surely must find this a great conflict. The same goes for the journalists, who are doing their jobs. We don't always get to choose where we work.

But even if I lived for the Olympics, I would not spend a dime to go to Sochi. I won't contribute to the fundraisers to send the athletes' parents there, either. I won't sport any Olympic parephenalia, and I won't shed a single tear for tourists who go to Sochi and get sick from the disgusting water or have a miserable time in unprepared, badly thrown together hotels or fall victim to some scam or other. Sorry, but it serves you right.

Tourists should boycott these games. There shouldn't be a cent going into Russian coffers. The government is actively persecuting gays, and refusing to protect them from being terrorized, kidnapped, tortured, and humiliated by private citizens who are no more than thugs. Even if you think being gay is a lifestyle choice with which you disagree, you should be disgusted and appalled by what is being done to fellow human beings.

Russia certainly isn't the only place with a terrible human rights record. And I am quite sure that there are plenty of Russians who don't agree with these policies. Lord knows I'm certainly not proud of everything my government does. But as the NY Times editorial linked above states, "the charter of the International Olympic Committee, which calls sport a 'human right' and states that 'every individual must have the possibility of practicing sport, without discrimination of any kind.'" Clearly this isn't possible in Sochi, and the choice of Russia as a location for the 2014 Winter Olympics is hypocritical in the extreme.

The (incredibly lame) slogan of the Sochi Olympic is Hot. Cool. Yours. Tormenting citizens and mistreating animals is neither hot nor cool, and "yours" only pertains to the right kind of people as determined by the Russian government.

09/17/2013

I don't watch beauty pageants (or, for that matter, awards shows). They always seemed to me to be sort of high schoolish popularity contests. In college, there were a couple of young women who participated in beauty pageants. Yes, they were remarkably beautiful; but they were also smart, hard-working, and talented. Clearly the women who do pageants are anything but the soulless, plastic Barbie Dolls they are represented to be in some circles. However, they're presented in such a way that despite the real and significant accomplishments many of them have, the most important thing about them is STILL how they look in a bikini. That's a problem. But it's not what has me up in arms today.

There's been some furor over the most recent Miss America competition. First, there were all the ignorant racists (why is it that these people are so inarticulate and cannot seem to spell, punctuate or use proper grammar? Why are they so proud of being stupid?) who had embarrassing public fits on Twitter and the like over the apparently astonishing fact that some Americans are brown. And not only did a stunningly beautiful brown American with an actual talent win, but she beat out an equally beautiful blonde, white National Guardsman whose real talent was not eligible for the competition.

And here's where I get annoyed. Miss Kansas, Theresa Vail, is clearly a very accomplished and admirable young woman. She's serving our country in the National Guard. She is smart and articulate.

What she is not is a trained singer; and when her true talent of archery was not deemed eligible because the pageant has a "no projectiles" rule, she went to singing "by default". That's a direct quote. And she didn't just pick anything to sing; she chose to sing a fragment of "Nessun dorma" from Turandot, by Puccini. She learned it from YouTube.

As a professional singer, who has spent and continues to spend thousands of hours and dollars honing my art, I find this personally insulting. Let me explain why. It's not the poor singing, poor choice of repertoire, or even the fact that the audience applauds it as if it were something wonderful. She's not any worse than many other talent show contestants with limited (if any)training; there's an actual voice there and if she were to put the time and effort into it, I believe she could offer a respectable performance, even of this ill-advised choice. Had she made a better repertoire choice, those of us in the profession might not be criticizing her singing so much. Believe it or not, I have a great deal of respect for any singer, professional or avocational, regardless of their abilities --- as long as I can see that they have put the time in, as my friend Susan Eichhorn Young says, to hone their craft.

But I can't entirely blame Miss Kansas for the poor repertoire choice, either. Singers who don't know any better will often choose something they perceive as flashy over something simple that they can do really well. Nessun Dorma (or at least, pieces of it) has been co-opted by pop singers ever since Pavarotti got sick and asked the incomparable Aretha Franklin to take over for him at the 1998 Grammy Awards. What Miss Franklin delivered was not opera, but it was grand. It was a magnificent performance by any standards, because Miss Franklin is a magnificent artist.

Aretha Franklin has put the time and effort into developing her talent and becoming a magnificent artist. Theresa Vail has not, and yet she (and, one assumes, her misguided advisers) thought it was okay for her to stand up on national television, in the nation's most high profile beauty pageant, and screech through bits of an opera aria which she herself admitted she learned by watching YouTube videos. Isn't that rather disrespectful to the tradition of Miss America, to think you can just throw something together and it will be presentable?

So I do question why Theresa Vail did not seek out professional help to study --- even if all she had was five weeks --- and choose repertoire that shows off the talent and ability she has right now. That, to me, is hubris. That, to me as a professional, is insulting. I wonder what Vail would think if an acquaintance breezily told her that she was entering a national archery competition in five weeks, having learned to shoot by watching Robin Hood? And if Vail did, indeed, seek out professional guidance ... well, all I can say is that she either got some bad advice, or chose to go against good advice.

I am a big fan of avocational singers. My program, Spotlight on Opera, has welcomed them right alongside aspiring and young professionals for over seven years, providing training and performance opportunities they might not get anywhere else. As the name of of the organization suggests, everybody gets a chance to be center stage. My faculty and I work very hard to help ALL our singers find repertoire that they can shine in, and all of them know that we will not let them get up on stage and sing just anything. It has to be something that is appropriate for their particular talent.

My private voice studio has always been filled, equal parts, with church choir singers to professionals to everything in between, and I love them all equally. I once spent six months teaching a young lady to sing, from scratch, a creditable version of "Fly Me to the Moon" so she could surprise her new husband at their wedding reception. I once "fired" a student with God-given golden vocal cords because he couldn't be bothered to develop his talent. One of the best auditions I have heard to date was an undergraduate soprano who sang "Caro mio ben" (for the uninitiated, this is a very simple piece from the standard beginners' book and for that reason, despite being a lovely piece, quite hackneyed); it was musical, it was well-studied; it was well-suited to her current level and showed off all that was good about her voice and nothing that wasn't so good.

I do not care what your talent level is, or what your ability level is --- if you put in the work, and if you care enough about the art form and the craft to study it and respect it, and if you are honestly seeking to do it well --- then you have my respect.

But if you are a selfish performer who just wants to force an audience to endure your rendition of something you have no business presenting; that you have not put the time and effort into learning properly and fitting into your voice; or which you have, because of your current limitations, no hope of presenting respectably --- then I cannot respect you.

I'm not saying Theresa Vail is selfish. I think she's ignorant, at least where singing is concerned. What she did was disrespectful to the art form she clearly did not bother to find out anything about, and as a professional, I can't get behind that. Opera is a highly developed, if popularly misunderstood, genre. There's no doubt that some people will read this and come away with the idea that I'm just another "opera snob" (though, in my personal experience, most people who believe opera is snobby and elitist have never been to one and don't really know what it's all about, let alone how the business works). But I don't accept that it's snobby to uphold high standards for my industry, or to cringe when someone thinks they can just pick it up in a matter of weeks and offer a respectable performance in a highly public forum.

I want avocational singers to love and to sing opera. I want them to perform it. I also want them to make it a real avocation, in which they research and study and play with it and find out, to the best of their ability, what it really means.

I do not want them to think that makes them artistically equal to someone who has made it a profession. Amateur singing is a valuable pursuit and worthy of respect, but it should not be confused with the work of a pro. Opera already suffers an image problem, and it hurts the art form when someone who isn't up to standards is presented and treated as if they are a star (and this happens not just in opera; all these popular competition shows delight in propogating the myth of the overnight sensation; it's damaging in many ways and NOT just to the various art forms).

This is not the standard the general public needs to be told is acceptable, let alone professional. And I would argue that when you are presenting something as your "talent" on national TV in a high profile pageant, your audiences should expect a certain standard of ability and execution; and if you cannot deliver that, you must understand and accept that you will be subject to critcism, and justifiably so. Heck, it doesn't matter if you're on TV or in a piano bar. When you put your product out in front of an audience, you are asking for feedback, and it's not always going to be good or even nice. Sing your heart out in the shower or in your living room, but if you invite an audience, you have made a contract with them, and you have made your performance about THEM, not you. It is now your job to entertain them. If they don't like it, that is YOUR mistake on some level because you have failed to reach them.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with having some discernment. People these days act like it's a bad thing to have standards. Having standards, having education, understanding that we are not, in fact, every one of us special snowflakes in every single regard --- this is unfashionable and damaging thinking. Some people are better at some things than others --- because they have worked harder, because God gave them the talent and they developed it, because that's just the way it happens to be. There are always going to be those folks who want so very badly to be champions who get paid to play video games, or NFL quarterbacks, or standup comedians, or rock stars; and no matter how much they work at it, they just can't get there.

Does that mean they should stop doing what they love? HELL NO. They should do the crap out of it, every chance they get. Does it mean they should stand up in front of the broader public and expect to be received as if they were at the top of the field, or cut special breaks due to their shortcomings? Sorry, but no. As I frequently tell young singers, it doesn't matter if you don't have much on your resume or if you can't yet do XYZ. The whole secret to being successful in what you do is to choose the appropriate opportunity for your special bundle of talent, development, and ability as it exists right this very minute. And you absolutely should take risks, and dip your toes in deeper waters --- but if you do, and a shark nibbles on your toe, you can't cry about it. Bandage it up, and go work at it until you can wade right in and kick that shark's fishy ass. Or stay in the shallow end. Either is a valid choice.

Theresa Vail. I wish her well. I admire her self-confidence, her beauty, her service to our country and even the bud of singing talent she has demonstrated. I hope that, if she is really interested in singing, she will get some voice lessons from someone who knows what they're talking about and will help her develop her talent, as well as some taste and discernment in that area. Also, I think it sucks that the Miss America Pageant wouldn't let her show her archery skills, because THAT would have rocked and if she had been allowed to do something she does really well instead of being forced to a "default", perhaps she would have won. (That's a whole 'nother blog post, BTW --- how old-fashioned is it for every woman to be expected to have a talent that can be presented on stage --- something that is, one presumes, acceptably "ladylike"?).

But I am not going to apologize for being one of the sharks nibbling Miss Vail's perfectly pedicured toes. She chose to splash in my ocean. If she learns to swim, then I'll welcome her.

07/19/2013

Yesterday, I got into it a little with the friend of a FaceBook friend who made a fat-hating comment. I don't usually do this sort of thing, and as fat hate goes, it was pretty run-of-the-mill. A fat guy sat next to my friend on the train, and was rude to her; so her pal felt it was necessary to make fun not of the guy's rudeness, but his fatness, and to comfort her with the thought that Rude Fat Guy would probably be dead soon from his terrible eating habits. Har har har! So funny!

Why bother speaking up? Fat Hate Friend was not going to change. His response to me was juvenile (big surprise): He didn't start it, and besides he's free to hate whoever he likes. SO THERE. Nanny nanny boo boo. Equally unsurprising, there were more fat-hating comments in his follow-up.

And who knows. Maybe Fat Hate Friend is really a decent guy, and didn't mean anything by it, just shooting off his mouth.What did it gain me to confront him about it on FaceBook? What good did it really do? Why did I bother?

I once worked for a very nice man, a good, generous, kind person, who came from a culture where women's roles are strictly defined. He was genteely sexist, old-fashioned, and a bit formal. He insisted that his female employees wear pantyhose and skirts to work, even though there were only two female employees and him (he always wore a suit and tie) and clients never came to the office. And it was his right to do so. We women were referred to by our first names, but he was always Mr. B. He was a good boss, but interestingly, when he got flustered, he would tell me to "take a deep breath" and "calm down". And he often perceived me as being excited when, in fact, I was not; I was usually deep in problem-solving mode and not speaking more quickly, in a louder voice, or, in fact, needing more breath.

He was, rather mildly and not even intentionally, gaslighting me. Gaslighting is a form of mental abuse in which the victim is given false information, presented by the abuser as absolute truth, and is led to doubt their own thoughts, memories, and even sanity. The term comes from a 1938 stage play and its subsequent film adaptations, most famously the 1944 Ingrid Bergman/Charles Boyer film Gaslight, in which a greedy husband after his wife's fortune attempts to convince her that she's crazy by doing little things such making the lights flicker and then telling her she's seeing things. Other examples of gaslighting are when someone responds to a perfectly calm and logical statement by saying something like, You're crazy! You're too emotional. You're over-reacting. Geez, can't you take a joke? In other words, they overreact to you and cast you as somehow unstable, humorless, or stupid.

Not all gaslighting is that nefarious. There's quite a lot of it that goes on in everyday life, and it's certainly not just men doing it to women. But it is an ingrained part of sexism, and a powerful weapon, a way of invalidating people you disagree with or want to have power over, but can't defeat through fair play and logic. And it happens a lot in our culture.

How does this relate to Fat Hate Friend above? Well, there is an epidemic in our society right now, an epidemic of bullying and shouting down and invalidating anyone on the wrong side of your preferred politics, race, religion or lack thereof, gender, lifestyle, appearance, or sexual orientation. There's been a great deal of this in the media lately, and I've personally been feeling terribly discouraged by it.

In my own home state of Texas, the Lt. Governor repeatedly gaslighted his own constiuents, the vocal protesters against the highly restrictive abortion law the Republicans were trying to (and eventually succeeded in) passing, by referring to them as an "unruly mob". Only the people who disagreed with him were a mob or unruly. The large, vocal crowd of supporters were not characterized in this way. He then proceeded to order the security at the State Capital to confiscate feminine products, for fear that angry constituents might throw them at legislators. (Concealed handguns were, however, just fine).

Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli was viciously attacked for not meeting the standards of attractiveness deemed appropriate for a woman in the public eye, according to a bunch of random guys on Twitter, and we all know what a heinous sin this is.

And even if you do pass the Mouthbreathing Onehanded Internet Moron F*ability Test and are thus validated to have a career and life, as talented and funny singer/songwriter Amanda Palmer of the Dresden Dolls found out, your tits are ALWAYS going to be the big story.

But then, even if you are certifiably cute, you'd better not be TOO cute, because you could legally be fired because your employer is so turned on by your very presence that he's afraid he can't keep it in his pants. (Whether you'd consent to an affair with him is immaterial).

Also, if you are anything other than 100% white beef-fed red-blooded Amurcun, don't even THINK about singing the National Anthem at a sports game. It doesn't matter if you were born in New York or San Antonio, if you don't look like you were born here, according to the White Internet. Funny how nobody ever gives my naturalized American, French-born, lily-white husband crap about all his Old Glory-emblazoned t-shirts.

Speaking of patriotic t-shirts, bandannas, and other attire, if you're going to wear it, make sure you're lily-white, because if you're, say, an American Muslim woman and you incorporate the flag of your country into your hijab, people are going to threaten to urinate on you, beat you, shoot you, and burn you alive.

I'm not even going to start with the whole Trayvon Martin thing. I just can't go there. For that matter, I'm not going to start with the gay-hate incidences, because then we'd be here all century.

The point is, despite or maybe even because of the progress we've made on racism, GLBTQ rights, women's rights, and yes, even in bringing fat hate and shaming into the light where it can be battled, the bigots and haters are more vociferous than ever. And if you don't think it's right for people --- even people who are basically decent and just not thinking too deeply about what's coming out of their mouths or how it relates to how they really think --- to use alienating, invalidating, derogatory language to describe other human beings, then you HAVE to say something when it happens. You HAVE to call your friends, relatives, and people you meet on the street on it.We can't let people get away with it.

If you don't think it's all that important, then let me point you to the example of the famous "n" word. When I was a kid, this word was used with impunity, though "nice" white people like my grandmother said "colored" or "Nigra". Now, unless you are proudly white supremicist or the worst kind of uneducated backwoods redneck cracker, you cannot use the "n" word in public. People get fired for it. Heck, as recently as 2007 a White house staffer was fired for using a word that sounds too much like the "n" word, even though it's a legitimate term with no racist connotations whatsoever.

While political correctness can certainly run wild (see above), it's up to the thinking and feeling people of the world to help change the climate of intolerance and the idea that some forms of bullying are acceptable. We can do that by calling people out on gaslighting, on invalidating and marginalizing language, on shaming.

I wrote it on my timeline, and think it's worth repeating here: If you are so intellectually
impoverished that your best argument against someone you don't like is
"nanny nanny boo boo, you're fat/gay/ugly/different-looking",
then you really need to go back to grade school and learn 1. some
manners and 2. how to think.

06/25/2013

Texas, all redneck jokes aside, is a terrific place to live. I've lived in New York, Chicago, and LA, and I've traveled all over the US and found things to love about just about every place I've been, but I have never found a place I want to live more than I want to live in Austin, TX.

Unfortunately, Texas is becoming increasingly less liveable for women, minorities, and poor people, thanks to the vicious war on these folks being waged by the GOP. Texas is the the red-taloned grip of the narrow-minded and hysterical, or the just plain ol' mean and greedy who just adore using ignorance and hysteria to further their own interests. And thus we come to SB 5, an outright bodyblow to the women (especially poor women) in the state of Texas.

Here's what happened. A bunch of rich old white men, fronted by a woman so ignorant she believes rape kits act as contraceptives , passed a bill that will shut down all but 5 abortion clinics in this giant state, and enacted wide-ranging restrictions when we already have some of the most restrictive abortion laws in the nation. Thanks to these new restrictions, some women (mostly the poorest, who can least afford to take time off their minimum-wage jobs and obtain the necessary transportation) will have to travel hundreds of miles to get health services. Meanwhile, the GOP is spouting platitudes out of one side of its mouth about this bill being about insuring women get the very best health care (if only they can get to it), and gloating out of the other side about shutting down all the abortion clinics.

Thousands of protesters, clad in orange (apparently, the only color t-shirt they could get in bulk on short notice) are jamming the Capitol, staying overnight, supporting the Texas Dems as they prepare to filibuster. I wish I were there to join the protest; but since I'm in nice, liberal, upstate NY at the moment, the best I can do is blog about it and write to my state representative --- who does NOT represent MY interests, BTW. Here's my letter to him:

Dear Mr. Dale,

I have never understood why Republicans, who claim to be anti-big
government, are so very determined to control women's bodies. Your
support of Jodie Laudenberg --- a woman so ignorant that she doesn't
even understand what a rape kit is for, and so repressed she has a hard
time using medical terms to describe her own body parts --- is appalling.
SB 5 is appalling and is nothing more than an attack on women. It is
not your place, nor the place of the GOP, nor the place of the
government to make medical decisions for women and their families. It is
not your place to force your religious beliefs on the rest of us. No
one believes the party lie about this being about better health care for
women, not even members of your own party. It is, and always has been,
about control. Please consider moving into the 21st century with the
rest of us.

Sincerely, An extremely disgusted constituent.

A friend of mine (I totally stole most of these links right out of her post; thanks Elizabeth) turned me on to an excellent blog post by Julie Gillis, who encapsulates thoughts I've had tumbling around in my head for a long time. Gillis writes that she believes that the ultimate goal of the GOP is to create a permanent poverty class. This makes a lot of sense to me. The poor and the ignorant are much easier to control. Now, I am NOT saying that the average conservative is actively seeking this outcome. I believe that your average conservative is a nice person who wants the world to be a better place and happens to strongly disagree with his or her liberal cousins about how to make that happen. But the GOP leadership is a completely different matter.

Look, this is nothing new. At the risk of using a buzzword that will turn some people off --- if such people are still even reading --- this is yet another salvo in the War on Women. But to me, the War on Women is not merely a conservative initiative, though they certainly are among its staunchest advocates. They have just got to get all those dangerous vaginas under control. No, it's not just the GOP. It's cultural, and to address these deep-rooted attitudes, we have got to make big deal, a HUGE deal, out of addressing sexism every time and every place we find it.

We have GOT to stop judging other women on their appearances and call people who make snarky comments about a woman's outfit, figure, hairstyle, face.

We have GOT to make it as unacceptable to catcall and sexually harass as it is to smoke in public places.

We have GOT to teach our kids that there is no such thing as boys' colors and toys and TV shows and clothes and girls' colors and toys and TV shows and clothes. If your male toddler wants to dress all in pink, be a mensch and LET HIM. If your little girl hates Barbies and wants to play with Hotwheels, LET HER. Let your kids be who they are, because they will be amazing.

We have GOT to call every asshole who tries to dismiss a woman's argument complaint with "you're such a bitch" or "you're hysterical" or "you're crazy" or "boys will be boys" or "you put yourself in that situation" or any subset of the aforementioned. (Try asking if it's their misogyny or their stupidity that prevents them from logically arguing their point).

We as women, and you as men who believe that women aren't some sort of substandard human being, have GOT to insist on fair treatment for us and for our sisters. Every single time an injustice occurs. If you see something, say something. And if no one listens, keep saying it until someone does.

We have also GOT to stop setting limits on what men are supposed to be and do. Men are under a lot of pressure, too, and believe it or not, sexism works both ways.

We need to be looking at each other as human beings, not as skin color-gender-sexual preference-economic status-political leanings and so on. Those things are part of who each of us are but they are NOT the whole.

Women's rights are human rights. Say no to rape culture. Say no to slut-shaming and fat-shaming and fashion-shaming. Say no to government control over our medical decisions and our bodies and our personal decisions about how we live our lives. Say no to ANYBODY else trying to force their religious beliefs into law in order to control others.

Say no to SB 5 and other bills like it. Stand up for the women of Texas and the women of the world, because when you do that, you are standing up for the people of the world.

PS --- to the Texas Legislature:

This references the famous flag at the Battle of Gonzales, the first battle of the Texas Revolution. Texans won.

04/11/2013

I've been AWOL for the last couple of weeks because life came raining down, hard. In the midst of some complicated scheduling (hubby going out of the country, me going to NY for some intensive coaching right before starting Faust rehearsals) we found out that my mom has breast cancer. Invasive lobular carcinoma, to be exact. If that doesn't sound scary, I don't know what does.

Without going into all the details, let's just say that the last few weeks have been a little stressful. I did go to New York, worrying the whole time; I did get back in time for rehearsals and be there for Mom's surgery (which went very well, thank you).I'm very grateful to Austin Lyric Opera for giving me a release so I could be with Mom during her surgery.

And I am so, so grateful that my schedule worked out so that I could be here. This is maybe one of the hardest things about a career that requires travel. You miss stuff. Big stuff, little stuff, stuff you really shouldn't miss except that you really need that paycheck and that resume credit. I was an apprentice in Chicago when my grandmother went into the hospital, and the doctors let it be known she wasn't coming out. I chose to miss a broadcast of Turandot in which I had a tiny solo part, and I don't regret it, though it seemed like a huge deal at the time. I was in California when 9/11 happened, a newlywed away from my husband for a lengthy period for the first time in our relationship, and I would have given anything to be able to get on a plane and get back to him. I've missed anniversaries, birthdays, weddings, and just being there when my sweetie had a bad day. That part of the career really, really sucks.

Between doctors' appointments, the surgery and recovery, and rehearsal, I've been away from home a lot, and have to face up to another source of stress: the dogs are mad at me. Well, Lila is. She's the princess. Sammy is my happy boy, and not much ruffles his fur. Lila is so mad at me for being gone so much that she revenge peed (twice), like a cat, and in extremely inconvenient places, at extremely inconvenient times. This may have resulted in some screaming and unladylike expressions on my part. Poor Sammy, caught between two angry bitches, did not know what to do with himself! (Don't worry, Lila has forgiven me, or at least we've more or less made up).

I am VERY happy to be working at home during this time, with extremely congenial colleagues, and in a comedic role --- Marthe Schwertlein in Faust, at Austin Lyric Opera. It's an updated production by Bernard Uzan, and my character, heroine Marguerite's good-hearted but rather flirtatious neighbor, gets to make a pass at the Devil. Now what's not to like about that? Here's another peculiarity of my business --- meeting a complete stranger and five minutes later, hanging all over him like a drunk hooker in a hotel bar at the KMart Executives Convention. Don't worry, it's not quite as glamourous as it sounds. Although the Devil is usually pretty cute. (And nice).

Just to end on a positive note, before I have to run off and manhandle the Devil some more, here's a nice story out of a nasty one. A few weeks ago, as people were rallying on the steps of SCOTUS in support of marriage equality, a New York coffee shop dared to put a red equality sign on their chalkboard (they'd had the traditional blue and yellow one on their door since they first opened). This enraged a conservative patron, who happens to be an operatic coach/pianist. Words were had, via Twitter and FaceBook. Reddit picked up the story and it went viral, at least in the opera community. A colleague of mine, tenor Rob McPherson, organized a sort of operatic drink-in to show that many in the opera community's support marriage equality (and The Chipped Cup). It's happening today, all day, but a group of singers will be there 5-8 p.m. and who knows ...they might even sing. ;) If you're in NYC, drop by!

I have to grope the Devil and pick up my husband at the airport today (ho-hum, another day in the life), so I can't show my support in person; however, I did phone in my order to be given to the next person who walks in the door. Cute story within a story: they forgot to ask for my zip code, so when the next singer --- soprano Othalie Graham --- called in her order, they asked if she knew me. She does! So, the opera grapevine went into action, she passed the message on and I was able to call back. Also, I posted a comment on the original thread on Slipped Disc, and it became a post!

So, deep breaths. I'm grateful for many things in life: wonderful colleagues, being able to make my passion my career, the recent progress towards full civil rights for all citizens, and last but certainly not least, my family --- especially Mom. Rainstorms pass, the sun comes out, the flowers bloom. Time to go smell the roses.